Against the Motion: Dinesh D'Souza(07:23)

Author Dinesh D'Souza says the sociological basis for a belief has nothing to do with its truth. Atheists have to explain away the Big Bang Theory.

Summary of Arguments(01:49)

Moderator John Donvan summarizes the arguments from the first round on the proposition "Science Refutes God."

Do Miracles Violate the Laws of Physics?(03:00)

Hutchinson says the laws of physics are how God normally orders the universe, but miracles go against this order. Lawrence Krauss says science presumes universal laws and there is no evidence of miracles.

D'Souza says the Bible does not offer proofs or scientific explanations, but revelations. Krauss says you can refute the Bible by showing that there were no days before light was created.

QA: Contributions of Theology(01:23)

Hutchinson says the Reformation brought the biggest transformation of learning in history. D'Souza says the Just War Theory is a theological contribution.

QA: How Can Science Tell What is Right?(01:36)

Krauss says we need to know consequences to know what is moral, and science gives us this knowledge.

QA: What About Spiritual Experiences?(04:20)

Shermer says neuroscience explains mystical experiences. D'Souza says most people have had a god experience. Krauss counters that belief in god is evolutionarily programmed.

QA: Why Believe in God?(01:01)

An audience member asks why, independent of religion, we should believe in God. John Donvan rejects the question as off-topic.

QA: Does Christianity Require a Leap of Faith?(03:28)

Hutchinson says we make decisions with incomplete evidence. D'Souza says where empirical evidence cannot go, faith is reasonable. Krauss agrees that evidence is incomplete, but in science, beliefs are falsifiable.

Closing Argument Against: Ian Hutchinson(02:20)

Hutchinson says science is not able to proclaim god's existence; claiming more for science than its competence warrants damages science.

Closing Argument For: Michael Shermer(02:17)

Shermer says studying psychology convinced him that people adopt religious beliefs for non-rational reasons. If god exists and interacts with nature, we should have scientific evidence for this.

Closing Argument Against: Dinesh D'Souza(02:16)

D'Souza says Darwin lost his faith because of his daughter's death, but did not think evolution disproved god.

Closing Argument For: Lawrence Krauss(02:26)

Krauss states that humans are evolutionarily programmed to impute intentions, meaning and purpose to things. We have eliminated many gods as we understand the order of the universe.

Description

For some, modern science debunks many of religion's core beliefs, but for others, science is unable to answer questions of God's existence or the origins of the universe. Can science and religion co-exist? Does science refute God?